Ashwamedh 2020 – Emerging Technologies and the Future of Supply Chain
Bureau,Odishabarta
Bhubaneswar:X-Ops, the Operations Committee of XIMB, hosted their flagship event and annual business conclave, ‘Ashwamedh 2020’ on the 15th of November, 2020. The theme of the conclave was ‘Emerging Technologies and the Future of Supply Chain’.
Professor Arun Kumar Paul, moderator for the conclave, began the talk byintroducing the speakers to the various committees XIMB has to offer and acclimatizing the students to the basic concept of Supply Chain Management and how rapidly it has been changing in reaction to the dynamic environment.
Mr. Priyaranjan Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Iconic Fashion India, served as the first speaker for the day. He talked about how supply chain management is like playing a game of football wherein each player has to efficiently play their part in order to avoid hiccups. He further pointed out that the D2C channel had been existent for a while but it is much stronger in this day and age. According to him, supply chain and logistics would play an integral role in the future.
The second speaker for the day was Mr. Umesh Joshi, Associate Director, Perfetti Van Melle. He started off by discussing his learnings from the various industries he has been associated with and proceeded with explaining the rapid shift in the use of technology for supply chain optimization due to the unprecedented surge in demand brought about by the pandemic. He further walked the students through the emerging technologies such as IoT, autonomous road transportations, and CSR, that are necessary for demand forecasting and meeting the evolving consumer expectations.
The third speaker for the day was Mr. Amith Raman, Chief Operating Officer, Inker Robotics. Mr. AmithRaman elaborated on the future of supply chain using robotics and how in about 10 years 50% of the jobs would be converted to automation yet only 5% would be eliminated. According to him, humans would have to work in tandem and co-exist with the technological changes. Mr. Raman stressed on the importance of right data and how it’s imperative to collect the right one before adapting latest technology. He stated that technology is more of an enabler for the business and how it aids in data analysation to accurately gauge its impact on.
The final speaker for the day was Mr. Vinod Kumar,General Manager – Distribution, CEAT Tyres Limited. He further strengthened the points put forth by Mr. Umesh Joshi when he pointed out that there has been a rapid shift in the use of technology, especially blockchain, for the supply chain due to a sudden surge in demand brought about by the COVID19 pandemic. He also outlined the need for adoption of technology and aligning it with the need of the customer and organizational purpose.
Once the panel members were done with their speeches, it was time for the Q&A session, where the students asked insightful, inquisitive questions. X-Ops’ annual magazine, ‘Ashwamedh’ was also launched. The event came to an end with Alok Kumar Hota, the Student Coordinator of X-Ops, proposing the vote of thanks.
